1st Annual Cyclefest
Copper Mountain, Colorado
August 22-24, 2003
Jeremy McGrath and Jake Zemke cut some hot laps at the Super Moto races at Copper Mountain
The First Annual Cyclefest sponsored by Suzuki and featuring the Fay Meyers Super
Moto Races was a huge success! After some rain on Friday the weather cleared up
and a great turnout of motorcycle enthusiasts enjoyed not only the Super Moto
races but a large motorcycle accessory mall, Jeff Aaron trails demonstrations,
manufacturer test rides, Sportbike, Dual Sport, and Cruiser rides through the
beautiful surrounding areas, evening concerts and a free barbeque in downtown
Copper Mountain, free chair lift rides and a wonderful atmosphere for the entire
event.
The outdoor motorcycle mall had lots of accessories, t-shirts,
and apparel available along with several bikes on display including the new
Honda Rune. Fay Meyers had their KTM, Ducati, Suzuki, and Aprilla models on
display. Malcolm Smith was on hand all weekend to sign autographs and bench
race! Aprilla, Buell, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph, and had their new
models available for test rides. The demo bikes were kept busy all three days by
riders interested in checking out the latest equipment.
Jeff Aaron did his usual amazing trials performance treating the crowd to his own brand of motorcycle aerobatics! Jeff had just wrapped up another national trials championship and was definitely enjoying himself at Copper Mountain.
Cyclefest organizers planned rides through the mountain roads for all types of riders. You could ride the back roads on one of the dual sport rides, carve some corners on one of the sportbike rides, or relax and enjoy the scenery on the cruiser rides. No matter what type of riding, everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the day!
The highlight of the weekend was the Super Moto Races sponsored by Fay Meyers. Held on one of the large parking lots the track featured an excellent mix of Road Race, Dirt Track, and Moto Cross type terrain. The entry list included Jeremy McGrath, Scott Russell, Jeff Ward, Jake Zemke, Chuck Sun, Kevin Schwantz, and a host of other riders all looking to be named the Big Kahuna.
Saturday's Super
Moto final was a runaway by Jeff Ward on a Honda. After leading for the first
portion of the race Jeremy McGrath relinquished his lead to teammate Ward and
hung on to claim the runner up spot. Third went to a hard charging Scott
Russell.
Sundays race started out the same as the previous days race with McGrath taking the holeshot. His lead was short lived as McGrath crashed and fell to the back of the pack. Saturday's winner Jeff Ward also took a tumble and finished mid pack. Kevin Schwantz had no issues with keeping his rubber side down and went on to take the race win and the overall "Big Kahuna" prize of $2800 for best combined finishes. Second place in Sunday's race went to Avard, and Burnhart rounded out Sunday's podium.
Great event, great people, great rides, great bikes and great races. Copper Mountain, a great place. Let's hope this event continues for years to come!
